Nostalgia Sets In Amagami SS
by Satoshi Nakano
Summary: Junichi meets a very shy and meek girl. He doesn't know exactly how to express his feelings, leading to very awkward yet heartwarming situations.


Note: My First Fanfiction. I'm only a newbie, so please bear with me

Note: I'm still planning to add more to this story, so please stay tuned! :3

Note: Also, the characters with american names are my original ones, the NPC's of this story. The main characters are Junichi and Tsukasa. ENJOY! m(-_-)m *bows in respect* "Yoroshiku Onegaishimasu!" :)))

Standing Alone

By: Satoshi Nakano

Today was especially warm. The humidity is slowly getting to me, eating away at my body's energy. "I know you can do it!" shouted Kaoru. I gave a small wave in response. I really didn't know how long I can go on. This is getting out of hand. I don't know how I even got into this situation. I was standing in the middle of the street with my group of friends, confronting a pair of delinquents harassing a school girl. "What the hell do you want?" one of the men shouted. "Leave that girl alone." I said firmly. At this point my friends formed a sort of semicircle behind me. "We can take these guys." said John. I nodded in response. The moment this happened, one of the men charged at me. He almost got me, but I managed to block his haymaker, countering with a heel kick to the diaphragm. He curled up and winced in pain. "What the hell are you doing?" said the man who was still holding the girl. "LET GO OF THE GIRL." I repeated, now raising my voice in anger.

I was only a high school student, but I really felt the need to defend the girl they were harming. Call me a dreamer, but I really have confidence in my abilities, both physical and mental. The other guy let go of the girl and charged at me. "Get the girl!" I told Kaoru. She ran to the girl's side and led her away from the area. "Leave this guy to us." Said John, cracking his knuckles. Jake, Sean, Umehara and Arnold had already joined the tussle when I started to walk away. "It can't be helped then," I said, shrugging my shoulders a bit as I walked away. As I walked away to check on the girl, I could hear faint shouting and begging. I really can't stand men who abuse women. The thought of it makes my stomach turn.

I called Kaoru, to know the exact location of where she was, and whether the girl was still with her. Apparently, the both of them were getting a bite to eat at the local pizza parlor. I decided to stop by for a few minutes. As I entered the restaurant I noticed that the restaurant was newly renovated. The floor was made out of this very elegant-looking wood, and the walls were now painted a nice homey brown, and new chandeliers hung on the ceiling. The manager greeted after a while me and led me to where Kaoru and the girl were. "Hey Junichi!" Kaoru said. "Hey" I said. I sat down and introduced myself. "Hi there. I'm Junichi Tachibana." "I'm Tsukasa Ayatsuji." The girl said, obviously blushing. I could tell that she was somehow around my age. "Where do you go to school?" I asked, tilting my head to the side to show my curiosity. "I study at Kibitou Highschool." She was studying in the same school as me! A sudden realization came to me. Yes. This was the same Tsukasa Ayatsuji from seven years ago. She was always energetic and bubbly. She was so independent and responsible. She was the first person I would go to if I ever needed help. I can't remember everything that happened seven years ago, but I can remember that I fell in love with her. I couldn't remember what kind of love it was, but I am certain it was there. "Ah! I remember now. I can't believe how much you've grown!" I said, smiling.

Kaoru suddenly tugged on my sleeve. "Hey! I'm right here you know. " I just smiled and patted her on the head. She blushed. For some reason, girls tend to blush a lot when they're with me. And the problem is I'm really clueless when it comes to the opposite sex. As I was trying to figure her out, John and my other friends walked in the restaurant. At first they didn't notice that we were there, and I was thankful, because I really wanted to talk a little more with Kaoru and Tsukasa. But suddenly Umehara pointed in our direction and shouted out my name. I couldn't do anything but put both my palms on top of my face, effectively hiding my shame. They decided to sit at our table, introducing themselves one by one to Tsukasa. "I'm Umehara Masayoshi." Said Umehara, holding out his hand to her. "I'm John Welch." Said John, bowing in respect. "Oh right! I'm Kaoru Tanamachi. Nice to meet you." Said Kaoru, with a somewhat cynical expression on her face. "Hey! I'm Arnold Macintosh."Arnold said. "Sean Lockheart here." Said Sean. "Jake Moony."Said Jake.

"Sooo… what did those weirdoes want from you?" Sean asked, while putting some ice on his knuckles. "U-Uhm, they said they w-wanted to g-go out with me…" Tsukasa said. "That's no good." Umehara said, shaking his head in disappointment. "You don't have to worry about them anymore." said John. "Thank you." said Tsukasa, while smiling weakly. "Wait a minute, do you two know each other?" Arnold asked us. "Yep! We used to be classmates in grade school." I said proudly. "Man, I wish I knew a girl as pretty as her." Jake said. I just smiled. Here was Jake, again trying to be a ladies' man. After a while, John and the others couldn't think of anything to ask anymore, so we all leave the restaurant

I decided to walk Tsukasa home, to catch up somehow with her. As we were walking though, silence was the most prominent part of our conversation, with the exception of some questions here and there. More often than not, the feeling of uneasiness swept over us as silence fell.

I desperately racked my brain for something to talk about, and all I could think of was our childhood. "So how come you can still remember what happened between us in elementary school?" I asked. "W-well it's because you aren't supposed to forget promises right?" she said, smiling at me. For the first time, I felt heat rise up my face, and it was as if my heart was going to melt. _"What the hell is this?" _I thought to myself. It was the first time I felt like that, at least in a while. "What's the matter?" Tsukasa interrupted my trail of thought. "A..ah! nothing, I was just thinking, about how we go from here." I said as we walked on. "Well, you can always come to my house." She said. I was flustered. _"Why does she want me to go to her house?"_ I wondered. So not wanting to offend her, I agreed to go to her house. "My parents are overseas right now, so you can make yourself comfortable." She said, as she hung her coat on the hanger. She escorted me to her room, and had me sit down on the bed. "Please wait for me, I'm just going to take a quick shower." She said, leaving the room. As she did, I took the opportunity to observe her room. It was painted a nice pastel pink, and was how you'd expect a girl's room to look like. The room smelled of vanilla, a scent which really appealed to my sense of smell.

As I took a deep breath, she entered the room. She was now dressed in more comfortable clothes, and her hair wasn't tied up anymore. It flowed down her shoulders like a river flowing to the ocean. Her obsidian colored eyes sparkled in the moonlight as she walked to my side and sat down. As she did, that unknown feeling splashed over me again. I felt my body heat up as she came in closer to me, staring at me with those beautiful eyes. "Junichi, w..will you still keep your promise to me? The promise that you will protect me forever?" she asked, her eyes projecting a sense of insecurity, expecting a negative answer. This was not the time to hesitate. "Of course." I said, trying to make my answer as sincere as possible. A moment of silence rose again, covering us with a blanket of uneasiness. "Oh right! Why did you ask me over again?" I asked, hoping to start a conversation. "Nothing really, I just thought that you would like to come over tonight." She said, blushing yet again. "Is that right? Well I certainly enjoy spending time with you." I said, smiling. She went all red in the face and looked away. I just smiled.

I failed to notice the time. It was already half past twelve. The last bus left thirty minutes ago. I didn't know what to do. "You can stay here for the night." Tsukasa said. "I..is it really okay if I do?" I asked politely. "Of course! I don't mind a bit. This turn of events will give us more time to be together." Tsukasa said. I guess she really has feelings for me. And I have feelings for her too. Where do we go from here I wonder? It's really uncomfortable for me to confess to a girl, mainly because I never tried it before. I helped her set up a sleeping bag, right beside her bed. Could this be an open invitation for me to sleep with her? Wait! What the hell am I thinking? I have to get these thoughts out of my head before they get me in trouble.

I left the room for a bit to freshen up, and when I went back, she had fallen asleep on the floor. What should I do? I decided to carry her to her bed. I lifted her up and started to walk towards the bed. To my surprise, she started to wake up. I was confused on whether I should put her down or keep moving towards the bed. I decided to keep moving. "Junichi? What are you doing?" she asked, rubbing her eyes. "You fell asleep on the floor, so I'm putting you on the bed." I said, trying not to put any malice in the sentence. "I.. please don't let go." She said, grabbing my shirt. "Tsukasa.." I said, staring at her. "I… I love you." She said, looking away. From my angle, I could see that she had the brightest shade of red on her face, compared to earlier. "I love you too." I said, laying her down on the bed. "It's late. You should go to sleep now." I said, sitting down on the foot of her bed. She gave a slight nod in response, and after that, she was silent. A few minutes later, I turned on the radio in her living room. I couldn't sleep because of how fast the events unfolded. As I listened to the song that was playing, I couldn't help giving in to an episode of nostalgia.

"Yes. This is where nostalgia sets in." I said to myself as I continued to listen to the song. After a while, I heard footsteps going down the stairs. I went to check on it, and saw Tsukasa, standing on one of the steps. She stared at me curiously. "Do you need anything?" I asked, as I turned off the stereo. "Turn the stereo on again." she said. I was baffled, but I did what she said. "You don't remember that song?" she asked me. "Yes. I remember it." I said. It was the song that brought us together. Before we knew each other, we used to ride in the same school bus. This song was our bus driver's favorite song, so he played it every day, on the way to school. We both learned to love the song, and we used to sing along with it every morning.

As this song played, I automatically started to bob my head to the beat. She followed. I didn't notice at first, but then she accidentally bumped the side of my head with her forehead. "Ouch!" I exclaimed. "Oh! I'm sorry, I overdid it I guess." she said, as she rubbed her forehead. I couldn't help but to stare at her. It was as if my eyes were unresponsive to my thoughts. Even though I knew staring was rude, my eyes wouldn't look away. She noticed me staring. "Is there something on my face?" she asked, desperately rubbing an invisible stain off her face. "No, it's just that I can't get over the fact that it's really you." I said. "Really… me?" Tsukasa asked, bewildered. "Yes. I thought I would never see you again." I said. I was shocked back into reality, when she hugged me. "I will never leave you again." she said, holding me tighter. I couldn't help shedding tears, because I fought through years of loneliness, facing the world as a solitary being, looking for a person to call my own. And now, she's right here in front of me. "Promise?" I asked, now holding back, because I wanted to cry so bad. "Promise." She said, looking at me sincerely. "Now we're even." I said, hugging her tight. "Yes." she said. I could feel my shoulder becoming damp, so I took out my handkerchief and handed it to Tsukasa. "Thanks. I don't want you to see me crying." She said, wiping the tears off her face.

"Now you really need to go to sleep. It's really late." I said, petting her head. "Sleep with me." she said, tugging at my sleeve. "Y-you really want to…" "Yes." She pulled me up and dragged me to her room. It's not that I don't want to sleep with her, but, I feel that we're moving too quick. "You don't want to sleep with me?" she asked, putting a sad expression on. How could I say no to that kind of face? "I want to." I said, as I climbed onto the bed with her. After a while, she was asleep. I just stared at the ceiling, trying to figure out what my true feelings are.

The way things progressed today is really impossible, so I thought of possible reasons why these things were happening. As I was thinking to myself, Tsukasa started to make noises. At first I thought she was awake, but after a while I discovered that she was asleep. "W-why? How hard do I have to work? How long must I be alone?" she murmured. I kept listening, even though it was already disturbing me. "I don't want to be alone anymore." she said, crying, but she was still asleep. "Please help me…." she said. I could do nothing but watch in horror as she spiraled into some sort of depression.

In truth, I could just wake her up, but if I do, then I won't be able to know what she really feels. To my surprise, she woke up on her own, suddenly sitting up, almost hitting the side of my head again. "Go away." she said. "Huh?" "Go away." "I won't leave you like this." I said firmly. With a swift motion, she grabbed my arms, and wrapped them around her. "You idiot. I didn't want you to see me like this." She said, crying. "Don't worry, I'm not looking. It's okay." I said, trying not to dwell on the fact that she had a psychological side to her. I have to do something about her problems, I said to myself. As I held her tighter, I could feel her slowly falling asleep again, and this time, I myself was starting to fall asleep as well.

Before I knew it, morning came. I realized that we both fell asleep while hugging each other. I slowly laid her down and fixed myself up. I proceeded downstairs to prepare breakfast. As I was waiting for the water to boil for coffee, she entered the room. "Good Morning." she said, with a smile. "Good morning." I replied, serving her some bread and the butter I found in the fridge. We sat in silence while waiting for the water to boil. "Aren't you going to pry?" she asked. "Tell me only if you want to." I said smiling. As I took a bite of the bread, the kettle started to whistle, so I turned the heat off and poured water into our cups. "I've always been alone…" she started, while she was stirring the contents she put in her cup. "My parents often want overseas, so I spend most of my time at school, looking for something to do." "I see. Well, you won't have to be alone now." I said, holding her hand. I was surprised when she slowly pulled her hand away. "I lose the ability to stand alone whenever I start to depend on others…" she said, holding back tears. "But you don't need to stand alone anymore." I said, again holding her hand.

"That may be the case, but still…" she said. I couldn't hold myself back. I lurched forward and held her in my arms. "Do you remember the promise YOU made to me when we were young?" I asked her, while stroking her flowing locks of hair. "My… Promise?" "Yes." We sat in silence for a while, still in each other's arms. "I think I remember." she said, holding me tighter. "What was it again?" I asked, slowly straightening back up. "I promise to stay with you forever…" she said, turning her back to me, crying. I stood up and put my hand on her shoulder. "That's why we have to stick to each other no matter what." she abruptly turned around held me once more, but this time, she was the one who was hugging me.

"I understand now." she said, holding me tighter. "Understand what?" I said, petting her head. "The song that brought us together. Now I know what it means." She said, smiling in relief. "I think I understand it now too." I said. "Fate brought us together." I said, tucking her hair behind her ear. "Yes." she said, as I brushed her cheek with the back of my palm.

I can finally rest easy from now on. I've found the person whom I can consider to be mine.


End file.
